COULDN'T SUSPEND DRINKERS FROM TEAMS, SO A.D. QUITS

LYNN DOAN; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT

In the past two months, two Somers High School students have been suspended for bringing marijuana to school and two others were rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning after drinking at a house party.

So when six seniors were caught on campus two weeks ago with "jungle juice" - a mix of fruit punch and alcohol - Principal Gary Cotzin knew it was time to set an example. He called in police, ordered that all seniors be screened for alcohol and ultimately suspended the six students for at least five days.

But athletic director Nancy Woicik felt that didn't go far enough. Supporting her coaches, she recommended that two of the teenagers, who play on Somers High teams, also be suspended from their teams for 10 days, or for four games.

Fearing a lawsuit, school administrators overruled her. She resigned in protest soon after.

"We missed an opportunity. We had a chance to send a message that it wouldn't be tolerated," said Woicik, who held the post for the past seven years. "But here we have it happening right in our own home, so to speak, and we do the minimum."

Cotzin said he stuck to the school district's policy, which calls for a minimum five-day suspension from school on the first offense but makes no mention of suspension from athletic activities.

"Even though it may not morally sit comfortably with people, you have to do what's legally written, what's in the policy," he said. "If it's not in your policy, it can be easily challenged by anyone, and that's not always going to sit easy with parents."

But some parents have sided with Woicik and her coaches.

"These kids have to learn the consequences of their actions and know that this is inappropriate," said Laura Braica, the high school's Parent-Teacher-Student Association co-president, whose son is also an athlete at Somers High. "This was an opportunity for us to get it out there that their behavior would not be tolerated."

Woicik said the two student athletes had signed contracts when they joined their teams in which they acknowledged that alcohol and drug use would not be tolerated. Coaches reiterated this point at their parent meetings, she said.

But when coaches tried to reinforce the rules, she said, they were told by the principal that the students could only be punished for missing practice because they were suspended from school. The students were ultimately suspended for two games, she said, but they were allowed to practice.

Cotzin said the school is taking the recent incidents involving students and substance use seriously. Teachers received a list of characteristics of someone under the influence, and Cotzin said he has met with the school's crisis team to brainstorm ideas on how to deal with substance abuse.

"We are on top of it," he said. "We are very concerned."

Resident State Trooper Sgt. Jose Claudio said he is applying for a grant to increase police presence at the school, raid more underage drinking parties and check more liquor stores for compliance.

"It's becoming a bigger problem [in Somers] than it used to be," he said, "and we are actively working to address it."

The school, in partnership with parents and teachers, is also hosting a forum on underage drinking next month. And Cotzin plans to sit down with coaches to determine whether the school board's alcohol and drug policy should be amended to address school sports without risking a lawsuit.

But Woicik, whose son is an athlete at Somers High, said the two athletes' parents hadn't threatened litigation, as far as she was aware. If her son was caught drinking on campus, Woicik said, his sports activities would be the least of her concerns.

"For me, when it's not about the message we're sending to kids anymore, when we're more concerned about lawsuits and what might happen," she said, "there is a huge problem."